a difficulty in cleaning them when necessary. The
English plates were not open to this objection; in fact, when the outer
surfaces were planed away, they remained perfectly smooth and compact.

Large plates have been known to disintegrate and fall to pieces after being
used for some time. A large anode surface, compared with that of the
article to be plated, is of paramount importance. The tank should be
sufficiently wide to take the largest article for plating, and to admit of
the anodes being moved nearer to or further from the article. In this way
the necessary electrical resistance can very conveniently be inserted
between the anode and cathode surfaces. The elimination of hydrogen from
the cathode must be avoided, or at any rate must not accumulate. Moving the
article being plated, while in the bath, taking care not to break the
electrical contacts, is a good security against a streaky or foggy
appearance in the deposit.

At one time a mechanical arrangement was made, by which the cathodes were
kept in motion. The addition of a little borax to the bath is a great
advantage in mitigating the appearance of gas. Its behavior is electrical
rather than chemical. If the anode surface is too great, a few plates
should be transferred to the cathode bars.

When an article has been nickel plated, it generally presents a dull
appearance, resembling frosted silver. To get over this I tried, some time
ago, the use of bisulphide of carbon in the same way as used for obtaining
a bright silver deposit. Curiously the deposit was very dark, almost black,
which could not be buffed or polished bright. But by using a very small
quantity of the bisulphide mixture, the plated surfaces were so bright that
the use of polishing mops or buffs could be almost dispensed with. When we
consider the amount of labor required in polishing a nickel plated article,
and the impossibility of finishing off bright an undercut surface, this
becomes an important addendum to the nickel plater's list of odds and ends.

This mixture is made precisely in the same way as for bright silvering, but
a great deal less is to be added to the bath, about one pint per 100
gallons. It should be well stirred in, after the day's work is done, when
the bath will be in proper condition for working next day. The mixture is
made by shaking together, in a glass bottle, one ounce bisulphide and one
gallon of the plating liquid, allow to stand until excess of bisulphide has
s